This invention relates generally to golf equipment and, in particular, to a golf bag having a putter storage compartment that is separate from a main golf club storage compartment.
Golf bags are typically provided with an elongated tubular body in which golf clubs are stored with the body being closed at the bottom and open at the top. The open top of the body is usually provided with a throat structure such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,328 to J. A. Solheim et al that divides the top into plural sections. The golf clubs are segregated into related groups with each group being placed in a different one of the sections. For example, the driver and fairway woods are normally carried in one section with the high number irons in another section and so forth. The golf clubs are carried in the golf bag with their heads protruding from their respective sections of the open top so as to be visible and thereby aid the golfer in club selection when playing a round of golf
The Rules of Golf allow a maximum of fourteen clubs to be carried while playing golf and having the heads of that many golf club heads located immediately above the open top of a golf bag can cause crowding which in turn causes difficulty in club selection, removal and reinsertion. The open tops of most golf bags are relatively small in order to keep the total golf bag weight within practical limits and this is particularly important in golf bags of the type commonly referred to as xe2x80x9ccarry bags.xe2x80x9d
Golf club head congestion at the open top of golf bags is particularly troublesome with regard to putters. Putters usually have shorter shafts than other clubs and because of this, when putters are carried in a golf bag, their heads are located closer to the open top of the golf bag than the heads of the other clubs being carried and are often below the heads of many clubs. Such positioning of putter heads makes putter selection and removal more difficult than the selection and removal of other clubs. Since putters may be used more often than any other club during a round of golf some prior attempts have been made to alleviate this problem.
One prior attempt at solving the difficulty associated with the selection and removal of putters from a golf bag is to use a spring clip that is attached to the outside of the open top of the golf bag. The putter shaft is grasped by the spring clip with the putter being suspended from the spring clip so as to lay along the outside of the golf bag. While the use of the spring clip overcomes putter selection and removal problems, the putter shaft is exposed and can come into contact with objects in close proximity to the golf bag and can be easily dislodged from the spring clip.
Another prior attempt to solve the putter selection and removal problem is to configure the divider in the open top of the golf bag to include a distinct section for containment of a putter. This attempt improves putter selection and removal by always locating the putter in the same place. However, the putter head is still located in a congested area at the open top of the golf bag. Therefore, a need exists for a golf bag having a putter storage compartment that is separate from the main golf club storage compartment and which overcomes the problems associated with the above-mentioned prior attempts.
In accordance with the present invention, a golf bag has a putter storage compartment that facilitates putter selection and removal. In addition to an elongated tubular body which defines a main golf club storage compartment, golf bags are typically provided with one or more zippered pockets on the exterior of the tubular body for carrying golf balls, tees and other accessories needed in playing the game of golf One pocket is primarily intended for carrying clothing such as rain gear, jackets and the like and for that reason it is often referred to as the xe2x80x9cclothing pocket.xe2x80x9d The clothing pocket is elongated and is coextensive with the tubular body extending from proximate the open top to proximate the closed bottom of the body and protrudes from the body. The putter storage compartment of the present invention is located within the clothing pocket of the golf bag so as to extend the full length of the clothing pocket and is preferably in the form of either of the two embodiments discussed below.
In one embodiment, the putter storage compartment is in the form an elongated tube, the upper end of which is connected to the lower end of a top fitting that is carried in a top panel of the clothing pocket. The top fitting opens onto the top panel of the pocket to allow the putter shaft to be inserted and removed from the elongated tube. The lower end of the elongated tube is open and extends through an opening formed in the bottom panel of the pocket. The opening formed in the bottom panel of the pocket is provided with baffle means that keeps the grip end of the putter shaft from extending below the open end of the elongated tube and serves as a drain for water which may enter the elongated tube through the open top thereof The baffle means is formed with a cup shaped pocket into which the lower end of the elongated tube is disposed so as to hold the elongated tube in place. The elongated tube is disposed in a corner of the clothing pocket and is separated from the interior of the clothing pocket by a partition to keep the elongated tube from becoming entangled with the contents of the clothing pocket.
In another embodiment, the putter storage compartment is provided with the top fitting which opens onto the top panel of the clothing pocket and opens downwardly into the putter storage compartment which is an empty space located in the corner of the clothing pocket and separated from the interior of the clothing pocket by the partition. In other words, the elongated tube is omitted in this embodiment. An opening is located in the bottom panel of the clothing pocket and baffle means is located therein for drainage purposes and for preventing the putter from extending from the lower end of the storage compartment. Since there is no elongated tube in this embodiment, the baffle means need not have a cup shaped pocket and instead will be of planar configuration.